AN AIREBOROUGH man is spending much of his spare time shifting through rubbish dumps - in the hope of finding relics from a bygone age.

In scenes which would not look out of place in a Steven Spielberg blockbuster, Yeadon's very own Indiana Jones figure Steven Skelton is searching the area's old rubbish dumps in the quest for lost artifacts.

But this time, it is not the lost Arc of the Covenant that is the subject of his quest, but ancient bottles from Wharfedale's

history.

Mr Skelton, right, who has had this unusual hobby for more than 20 years and has collected dozens of bottles, said: "It is just something a bit different from stamp collecting and the usual hobbies people have.

"I find it hugely enjoyable, finding and excavating old Victorian rubbish dumps. It's also fascinating what you can find there. Many of the bottles are quite a complex and intricate system and design which was a forerunner of our present day plastic screw bottles."

One of the most successful ventures was to a field adjacent to the allotments off Gallows Hill at Otley.

Mr Skelton, aged 44, joined his digging pal Simon Haigh from Cleckheaton and his mechanical excavator and found a large number of bottles from Otley and surrounding areas. They had to dig as deep as 18 ft in places to find the bottles.

Samples included glass mineral water bottles from the Ilkley Aurated Mineral water Co in Ilkley and bore the Olicana trademark, and ranged from the traditional brewer bottle shape to ovate bottles called Hamiltons and then the most intricate design of bottle, the Codd bottle.

The Olicana bottles included a marble which, when the bottle was full, was thrust by the pressure of the contents up to the neck of the bottle where it sealed against a rubber washer inserted into the recessed groove inside the neck of the bottle.

When the marble was pushed back down, the pressure was released and the marble dropped into the pinched groove and fell behind two small pinches in the neck of the bottle to allow the contents to be poured.

Otley bottles included a number of large stoneware flagons from botanical brewers Holt Bros, who sold mineral water, ginger beer, sarsaparilla and dandelion and burdock, and rival company J Deighton.

Mr Skelton, who spent his childhood in Otley before moving to Yeadon, still researches his love of bottles and their history and would welcome contact with anyone who can help him further his hobby. He can be contacted through reporter John Baron at the Wharfedale Observer offices on 01943 465555. (9-05-AH)

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